ABSTRACT
During my final year of graduate school at the University of Oklahoma, I participated in a practicum experience serving as a teaching assistant (TA) for the newly funded and developed course entitled University-Community Engagement Toward Social Justice. The course was taught by Penny Pasque. My main role during the course was to serve as a community partner site coordinator, which provided a practical experience for students to serve at agencies in the community. The semester prior to the class, I created connections with agency volunteer coordinators and discussed the logistics of the students’ projects. The graduate students worked with six agencies that addressed education for homeless children, human trafficking, food distribution, home renovation for seniors, family clothing and supplies, and children with disabilities. The project details varied for each agency but some examples included tutoring and mentoring children, data entry and information organization, programming, home renovation, and fund-raising. With 6 community partners and more than 20 graduate students in the class, I was tasked with pairing students based on their interest to an agency. Throughout the rest of the course, I ensured that both the students and the community partners had a mutually beneficial experience.
